Some rights matter: Human rights commission votes, retains executive director

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The Alaska Human Rights Commission board came down on the side of the agency’s executive director, allowing her to keep her job, but requiring a brief suspension and a public apology for her misdeeds.

Marti Buscaglia was the subject of a state investigation because she harassed and subtly threatened an Alaskan over his truck decal, which she decided was “hate speech.” It was, in fact, the truck owner’s commentary on the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

Buscaglia also bullied the truck owner on Facebook, using the State of Alaska’s official Facebook page for the Human Rights Commission.

Many Alaskans have called for the resignation of Buscaglia, because she violated the First Amendment rights of the truck owner, who had parked his vehicle in the Human Rights Commission parking lot, and she abused her authority. Buscaglia put her state-issued business card on his truck and ordered him off the property.

[Read: Human Rights director thought she was regulating ‘hate speech’]

[Read: Human Rights Commission vs. First, Second Amendment]

The vote, Must Read Alaska has learned, was 5-2. Buscaglia’s suspension starts Monday and ends April 26.

Brenton Linegar, the owner of the truck, issued this statement on Friday:

“If A bumper sticker can incite a call to ban one from a parking lot, cost them their livelihood and ostracize them as an outcast. I can only imagine the anger that someone has to be carrying to follow such a path about a total stranger. This is who she is and a slap on the wrist is not going to change her ideology. When she was hired or appointed, she wasn’t even qualified for the job.

“She has lied in the past to get hired and has been fired before. From an internal source, she has been weaponizing this department and she will continue to do so. This cannot be tolerated at this level and is a dangerous precedent to set if she is allowed to continue in this job. She has willingly wasted taxpayer money, willingly infringed on my 1st and 2nd amendment rights, she willingly tried to cost me and my employees their livelihood and ostracize me in a small community.

“She then went on to speak to the press and continue to lie about her intentions. If she wanted to simply have a conversation with me, then a note to that effect could have been left on my windshield.

“Instead, she saw fit to write a different type of note, put my truck on Facebook on the State page and email my client from her state provided email, all the while using the full weight of her title along with her cohort, the chief of parole officers to intimidate me and my client.

“She also did this all on tax payer paid time, taxpayer-provided business cards and so on.

“The Governor was elected to do many things, and one of those things was to get rid of this type of abuse of position and to stop this type of behavior.

“The only way to stop people like this is to get them out of these positions where they can willingly damage others, while pushing their personal agendas and purposefully operate outside of their job scope and directive. This is dangerous and Alaska is watching. The world is watching as this situation has been seen all the way in India. Future voters are watching.”

63 COMMENTS

      • They are clearly a tool of the Kafka-trapping Alinskyites. The only people they will ever persecute are non-cultural revolutionaries. A public apology is a unrecoverable shaming unless one receives the indulgence of the leftist hierarchy.

        .

        One need look no further than Ted Kennedy (the ladykiller), Senator Byrd (the Klansmen), Biden (the public groper), and Smollett (the boy who cried wolf) to see that they will never hold their allies to the same standards that they insist of anyone else. It’s all a farce.

  1. She (Buscaglia) sounds like a hater to me. I disagree, she should be seeking new employment. She is not a good fit for this job.

  2. Attention all Second Amendment advocates: we will be organizing a protest in the HRC parking lot. Please bring your “Black Rifles Matter” and “NRA” membership decals. Details will he forthcoming as to dates and times.

    • Parking all the time, doing business, every day. Just say when! I will slather myself in stickers.

    • I’ll also wear my Gun Owners of America ball cap and a jacket with a Second Amendment Foundation patch. And of course my NRA stickers. I don’t have any Black Rifles Matter though. I’m not sure if my Amazon order will be here in time. Me being a woman is a bonus. I’m a life time member of GOA, SAF, and NRA.

  3. Can I make a guess that she is being paid during her suspension? Good month for a Hawaii vacation.

    • All she has to do now is cash out two weeks out of her leave bank. Just like her punishment is a paided vacation. Sickening. She’s an appointee so I’m not sure why she’s not been fired by the Governor. The other equally complicit “official” is most likely cowering behind his union.

  4. This entire matter was about having a basic understanding of the Constitution, recognizing that the document affords certain rights and exercising good judgment in doing a related job. Ms. Buscaglia failed each one of those tests. Now the Commission has demonstrated they are similarly deficient. The Governor should discharge the Commission and start over.

    Ms. Buscaglia is a thug and not worthy of public employment.

    Litigation for seeking to deprive a citizen of their civil rights may follow. She needs to hire a good lawyer.

    • She doesn’t work directly for the Governor; she works for the Commission. The Commission however does work for the Governor so there might be a day of reckoning.

      • Yep. Good call Art. Time for the Gov. to sweep the Commissioners. The HRC has been around since God made dirt so I don’t think the entire thing will be abolished, but clean them out. Clearly, they are cut from the same cloth as Marti. It is a national embarrassment.

    • I’m sure the FOIA request will unearth those.
      /sarcasm

      They probably deleted the evidence though – same as deleting the FB post. Laws are only for the peasants after all.

  5. Well that makes me feel totally confident in the fairness and justice of the Alaskan state government. Head of the Human Rights Commission attempts to stifle 1st and 2nd amendment rights because she thought she was offended, uses government website to bully the offender, tries to interfere with his work but it’s okay because she is gonna apologize and take a paid vacation. What would have happened if the plumber had done this stuff to her?

  6. in my opinion, this entire situation is a non-issue. all parties involved are knuckleheads. I don’t believe for a second this was exclusively “an expression of support” for the 2nd amendment- you don’t slap a sticker like that on your rig w/ out damn well knowing that it’s going to ruffle some feathers. but that of course is not illegal. it’s just ignorant. and is probably the catalyst for most of the bumper stickers you see on the road. as for buscaglia, unless it directly impacts the safety and security of you, your supervisees, or the facility, mind your own business and save your social justice warrior antics for your off-time.

    • ruffle some feathers? Whose feathers? you are therefore negating the first amendment. So my NRA sticker in my window ruffles feathers? MAGA hats trigger violence? It’s your problem, not the stickers.

      • yours apparently. you’re clearly “passionate” about bumper stickers, and the constitutional rights of those who place said stickers on their vehicles. me, I could give a rat’s ass what kind of sticker you put on your vehicle. have a nice weekend.

        • Gary: stickers aside, political leanings aside, plumbers aside….what in the world is the frigging executive director of a state commission doing perusing the damn parking lot of their building looking at bumpers of cars? Who in the heck has time for that crap? Really? You are making over 6 figures and have time to drop everything and walk around the damn parking lot to be a SJW on bumper stickers. How ridiculous is that? She should get on some community organizer circuit with AOC and Rachel Dolezal – teach everyone how to be a fraud.

    • Of course it’s a “non issue”. For you. For anyone that believes in constitutional rights for all Americans, it is certainly an “issue”. An American is guaranteed by the American Constitution, to be able to “cover their vehicle or home, for that matter” with any bumper stickers they like. If you don’t like it, that proves you must be a dim. Support the haters, racists, idiots that the dim party has turned into. Good play on your part. Calling decent people ignorant without reason or cause is not a good play. In the wrong circumstances, that could get you a broken nose, or worse. With good cause. By the way. Freedom of expression, speech, bumper stickers is my business. I’m an American. When did you make it yours? Oh, you don’t believe in that unless the “business” agrees with yours!!

      • we’re talking about a sticker, dude. your response here is pretty comparable to buscaglia’s response to the sticker. ironic, eh? gee whiz, I hope your day improves. you’re clearly pretty worked up. here’s to my nose not getting broken this weekend. have a good one, frosty.

        • and just for clarification. . .

          clearly, reading comprehension is not your strong suit. for starters, I don’t care what kind of sticker anybody puts on their vehicle. nor did I state that earlier. 2nd of all, i’m neither a “dim” or a republican. I don’t attach to myself nor am I defined by some superficial bs political label. as far as i’m concerned, you’d be hard-pressed to find an honest and/or decent human being on either side of the coin. third, I didn’t call anyone ignorant. I called the act ignorant. there’s a difference. and further on that point, as far as the threat of physical violence- thanks for the advice. i’ll take my chances. yeah dude, i’m an American too. i’m not making this my business. i’m commenting on an article, same as you. and lastly, I respect other people’s opinions. whether I agree with them or not. however, it doesn’t mean that said opinions are free from criticism.

          you’ll get there. keep trying.

          • I figure it’s pretty much a waste of my time to try and “debate” such an opinionated person. I’ll just call it a “mismatch” and leave it there. By the way, I didn’t threaten you with physical violence. I said, “in the wrong circumstance, like calling people names, could get you a broken nose”. That is not a threat. It’s a statement. If you truly ‘respected’ other people’s opinions, you wouldn’t call them names for exercising their opinion. I fully intend to “keep trying” as long as I feel like it.

    • Well said, Gary! I’m a liberal and a gun owner, but I keep my gun appreciation to myself because I know darn well that some people don’t like them. And I’d rather live in peace by not flaunting it just because it is my “right” than flash it around just to troll others. Life is hard enough without creating unnecessary fights. Live and let live, Brother. And honestly, that applies to both parties in this little spat.

      • Do you give the same lecture to gays insisting on being sold cakes by Christian bakers? No. Because your “live and let live” crap would get you ostracized.

        • Thanks for the reply Mr. Laughing. Well actually, yes, I would give them the same advice. In both cases, people are doing something only to troll others, to prove a point, to make trouble where none is needed. I recognize and accept people’s right to have legal firearms just as I recognize others’ right to be gay.

      • You do understand this is a 1st Amendment issue right? A government official using their official business card, facebook page, and their official capacity to try and silence the 1st Amendment rights of a private citizen including trying to get that private citizen fired.

        While it’s great that you own guns and hide them from others it has nothing to do with the issue at hand, an overzealous government official misusing their authority to punish and silence somebody they disagree with.

    • You can bet there are other stickers on cars in that parking lot meant to ruffle feathers but they are liberal so don’t ruffle feathers at this office. Want to bet there are some rainbow decals or pro abortion stickers on the vehicles there? This is about her personal beliefs influencing her job.

    • This has nothing to do with stickers or guns, this has to do with a government employee trampling on the 1st Amendment rights of a private citizen. The sticker was a catalyst to the abuse of the government position. There are plenty of countries that have no such thing as the freedom of speech, this isn’t one of them.

  7. Suspension is a slap on the wrists. She needs to go and be retrained on 1st and 2nd Amendment Rights issues, followed by intensive therapy.. May we suggest API, where she can join Byron Mallott in group sessions. btw, we understand Byron loves hugging and hair sniffing. Joe will be conducting classes. Butaglia: bring your Democrat Party ID card for free admission.

  8. Government for the Apparatchik by the Apparatchik. Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Alaska!

  9. If it is possible, can the commissioners. Appoint non-leftist replacements. If legislative confirmation is required but not obtained, no big deal.

    Dissolution probably tough. Its been around for 55+ years. Barney Gottstein and Roy Peratrovich were initial board members. Then again it has evolved into human rights for leftists. Non-leftists have no human rights – because they are not humans! The commissioners support that. Imagine if the ED was a devout pro-lifer and took the same action against a pro-choice bumper sticker.

    • They aren’t “commissioners”, they are “commissars”. This hugely taints all past and now all future decisions. This indicates that a majority within the commission favors her position and actions. This incident has unmasked the underlying political and societal philosophy of the commission.

    • As nauseating as it would be, a person has a right to have a swastika on their vehicle. Hope they don’t park in her lot.

  10. Governor Dunleavy,
    Please replace the entire Alaska Human Rights Commission Board. They clearly are unable to use common sense good judgment in serving Alaskan citizens. Sir, I compel you to do the right thing for Alaska.. This has nothing to do with the budget or the 2nd amendment. The Commission has lost its way.. This is not the first time this woman and the commission and its Director have foisted their values on the public. They all need to go. Please start over, and vet each and every appointee. They serve Alaska, not their personal biases!

  11. “She has lied in the past to get hired and has been fired before” More about this please. AND WHAT DID BYRON DO?

      • An excerpt from the above link:
        “Credibility is a hallmark of Freedom and our products,” he continued. “We agreed that this breach would make it impossible for her to fulfill her responsibilities.”

        “Freedom Orange County Register” was unable to look past, as I see it, a comparatively minor discretion to use her services in a publisher capacity. How in the world can the violation of another’s constitutional rights (the protection of which are core to her position) be mitigated in such a casual manner as this?
        If our leaders are no more accountable than this, how can anybody be accountable for anything?
        A prelude to Anarchy

    • Buscaglia probably worked with the little Cole twins at the Newsminus.

      ps. Byron is a diddler. He used the Office of Lt. Governor to hire and rapidly promote women to particular posts within AK state government, for extramarital relationships, then groomed the young daughters of those promoted for additional sexual purposes. SICK! Just as sick, was Governor Walker’s refusal to address this issue. His running mate. His soul mate. BYRON MALLOTT. A sitting governor’s sudden exit from a campaign and politics…..all in an effort to conceal the despicable truth. It should have been a national news story. But it involved Democrats and Minorities, so….. no. SICK!
      Thank God for Dunleavy.

  12. This is a national embarrassment. These commissioners had an opportunity to actually show the world, yes, the actual world, that Alaska knows that human rights apply to all humans. What a concept. But no, it didn’t happen. You can publicly thrash someone’s rights, using your power as the damn executive director of the HRC in Alaska and then get a two-week break from your job. But wait! There’s more! You then get to pen a feigned apology that means absolutely NOTHING to ANYONE.
    .
    The woman is a complete fraud and fake and so is the Commission that oversees her. Please, Governor Dunleavy….remove these Commissioners. Please Alaskans, email the Governor and ask him to do this.

  13. I’m entirely unsurprised – disappointed but not surprised.

    I personally suspect some of the people in question actually support her actions – they just can’t openly say it because it would mean casting themselves in an anti-constitutional light.

    So the next best thing for them is to just slap her on the wrist and say “don’t do it again”… while not caring that she did it in the first place.

  14. Mr Linegar, as I’ve stated before you should have filed a civil suit against her and the state. You still can of course. If you had in the beginning she would already be gone! As I said you still have the option! There are times in life when we as individuals must do the heavy lifting to right a wrong. Inaction will make her one of the untouchables.

    • Yes Sam, he should. Mr. Linegar, I hope you are reading this. I am quite confident there are plenty of pro bono attorneys out there that will take your case. She has stomped on your rights and defamed you in the eyes of some. To me, however, you are a star now on my list next time I need some work done!

  15. I wrote to the Governor on this, along with Brenton’s press release. Thanks Suzanne for the follow-up on this.

    Once the Dept of Law comes out with their conclusion, I asked to Governor to remove her. I also asked that he line item veto the funding for the department and commission until he can fully remove the dept and commission.

    Governor Dunleavy needs to hear from all of us that stand for all the Constitution!

  16. File a complaint with the Division of Human Rights and see what happens.
    Your rights regarding your employment has been infringed on, FILE!

  17. Prejudice and bias are everywhere and they tend to grow instead of go away if people are punished for talking about them, or, in the opposite, try to suppress them. Here, Ms. Buscaglia must learn a valuable lesson. In her executive position, an attempt to silence and punish another (the contract plumber for the state) was not only unprofessional, it actually caused more hatred amongst the very groups that a director of human rights should wish to avoid. Ms. Buscaglia’s very own prejudice and hatred is Exhibit A for the further occurrences of hatred. She should apologize for her ineptness, and probably resign for failure of duty and lack of fitness.

  18. So she “retired” from a position she didn’t have enough time to retire from? It sounds like she was forced into resignation, but why was she given a pass? Why not termination for an action that was clearly against not only the law, but against what her own department stood for?

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